goldsmith



UNITED STATES PATE T .FFrcE.

BYRON B. GOLDSMITH, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

FINISHING FIBROUS OR ABSORBENT SURFACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,446, dated December6, 1898.

Application filed July. 12, 1898. Serial No. 685,759. (No specimens) Toall whom it mcoy concern.- 7 7 Be it known that I, BYRON B. GOLDSMITH, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in theState ofiNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFinishing Fibrous or Absorbent Surfaces, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention has reference to improvements in the art or process ofproducing a finish upon articles having a fibrous or other absorbentsurface, the object being to provide a more durable finish than isproduced by the ordinary processes of varnishing and with a great savingof labor, time, and expense, as will presently appear.

The invention also comprises the new article of manufacture resultingfrom the new process.

In the ordinary processes of varnishing articles having a fibrous,cellular, or other absorbent surface-such as articles of wood, paper,leather, cloth, &c.the finishing properties of the first and sometimesthe second and third layers of varnish are practically lost, since thesevarnishes sink into the absorbent surface to a considerable depth,filling the minute cavities between and within the fibers, cells, andother structural elements. In surfaces of a fibrous character thissinking of the varnish is ordinarily accompanied by a raising of thefiber, which gives to the surface a woolly or flocculent aspect. Toavoid this, there are employed one or more heavy coats of fillers, or anumber of successive coats of varnish are sacrificed for this purpose,or both, and after each coat the surface is ground down by sandpaper,emery-paper, or pumice-stone until, finally, a surface is obtained uponwhich the varnish or compound will stand. I have heretofore recognizedand have successfully avoided these difficulties by an improved processof varnishing, in which a pyroxylin varnish takes the place of theordinary fundamental coat or coats of fillers or varnishes, or both, asset forth in several Letters Patent granted to me, and particularly inmy Letters Patent No. 490,195, dated January 17, 1893, and Reissue No.11,259, dated August 16, 1892. Pyroxylin face.

varnish, however, is expensive and its use upon a commercial scalebecomes for many purposes prohibitory.

I have discovered that aqueous solutions of casein compounds constitutea cheap and hi ghly-usef ul substitute for pyroxylin varnish as afundamental coat upon an absorbent sur- Like pyroxylin varnish, it doesnot impart to the surface a woolly or flocculentappearance. It does notraise the fiber of the wood or other fibrous bodies, and a coat ofgloss-givin g varnish or compound superposed upon the casein compoundwill stand as well or nearly as well as upon a pyroXylin varnish. Inaddition thereto the aqueous solutions of casein compounds behave forthe purposes in view very much like solutions of pyroxylin in anotherimportant respectnamely, there may be added to them other andparticularly gloss-giving substances, such as glue or dextrine, withoutimpairing to a marked degree the valuable characteristics above setforth. I make use of this in some cases to heighten the gloss of thefundamental coat. My improved process is therefore practiced as follows:Upon the fibrous or other absorbent surface I apply one or more coats ofan aqueous solution of casein compound, using for this purpose any ofthe casein compounds that are readily soluble in water or dissolvingcasein in water containing substances rendering casein solu-. bletherein. Of the casein compounds that are directly soluble in ordinarywater may be mentioned the compounds of casein with alkalies or alkalineearths or also compounds of casein with hydrochloric acid. On the otherhand, casein may be directly dissolved in water containing alkalies oralkaline earths, or borax, and other substance. Ordinarily a single coatis quite sufficient, and, as above stated, a quantity of glue ordextrine or other like substance may be added to the solution. ThisLmdaL BLQMQQU rilteslrr and any desired number of coats of 'pyroxylinvarnish or of any ordinary or preferred glossvarnish or gloss-givingcompound are then superimposed. Ordinarily one coat of pyroXylin varnishor of gloss varnish or compound will be found sufficient, since neitherthe pyroxylin nor the gloss compound is absorbed when applied upon thecasein compound ground. V p j When it is desired to give a finish tofibrous or other absorbent surfaces without imparting a gloss, butmerely to produce a smooth uniform surface, it is only necessary to usea finishing coat which does not dry with a gloss, and it will be readilyunderstood that the amount of gloss given to the article can beregulated in this way.

It will be understood that pyroxylin varnish or the gloss varnish orcompound will or may be colored as in the ordinary process ofvarnishing.

When the process is applied to flexible fibrous material-su ch aspaper,leather, cloth, &c.it is of advantage and oftennecessary to mixwith the casein-compound solution a substance that gives flexibility tothe casein compound, and I have found that glycerin answers this purposewell. The quantity of glycerin may be varied within Wide limits.

Articles can be finished in the manner described very cheaply andexpeditiously, and the finish obtained is quite durable and has many ofthe characteristics of the finish obtained by the use of pyroxylinvarnish as a foundation coat, described in my aforesaid Letters Patent.

Articles produced by this process have upon their surface a layer orlayers of casein compoundand superposed thereon a layer or layers ofgloss-giving or finishing compound. They are thus distinguished from allother articles.

Having fully described my invention, I desire to secure by LettersPatent- 1. The method of finishing articles having absorbent surfaces,which consists in producing upon the same a coat or coats of an aqueoussolution of casein or casein compound, and

then snpe ncs 'n er on acoa coats of ing upon the same a coat or coatsof an aqueous solution of casein or casein compound,and then superposingthereon a coat or coats of pyroxylin varnish,substantially as described.

8. The method of finishing articles having absorbent surfaces, whichconsists in producing upon the same a coat or coats of an aqueoussolution of casein or casein compound, then superposing thereon a coator coats of pyroxylin varnish, and then superposing on the latter a coator coats of gloss varnish or finishing compound, substantially as described. V

4. As an improved manufacture, an article having an absorbent surfaceprovided with a coat or coats of casein or casein compound, and asuperposed coat or coats of varnish, substantially as described.

5. As an improved manufacture, an article having an absorbent surfaceprovided with a coat or coats of casein or casein compound, and asuperposed coat or coats of pyroXylin varnish, substantially asdescribed.

6. As an improved manufacture, an article having an absorbent surfaceprovided with a coat or coats of casein or casein compound, a superposedcoat or coats of pyroxylin varnish, and a coat or coats of gloss varnishsuperposed on the pyroxylin varnish, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification i nthepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

A BYRON B. GOLDSMITH.

Witnesses:

KATHARINE E. FINN, WM. WEHLE.

